INTEGRATION

An integrated solution for a maintenance management system requires simplicity and openness towards other information systems within the company.

API PRO is optimized for easy system integration due to its open structure and specific modules for export and import of data. API PRO has successfully been integrated to condition monitoring systems, document management systems, control systems, ERP systems, HR systems, and many other external systems.

Today, most API PRO interfaces are based on the use of web services, which are increasingly setting the industry standard of how openly systems should be able to communicate with each other.

Furthermore, the database structure and the special transaction handling with full debit/credit control have been developed specially for a controlled data exchange between external systems.

ERP Integration

Maintenance systems handle functions of essential importance to enterprises. This is why many ERP systems today also offer a maintenance management functionality. The benefits of using a maintenance management system heavily depend on whether it is successfully adopted by technical personnel.

ERP systems tend to be designed using financial systems as templates. In comparison, the API PRO system is designed by engineers specifically aiming to serve the needs of your technical staff.

Interfaces for SAP and other leading ERP systems

To create the most efficient system integration at your plant, we have designed API PRO to share business processes with ERP systems. The interface reference list covers most well-known ERP systems. For instance, we deliver ready-to-use SAP interfaces at competitive prices that utilize a configurable middleware and communicate with SAP by using native SAP Idocs. We also deliver interfaces for Oracle Financials, Microsoft Dynamics/Axapta, Navision, Movex and Baan.

We leave it to our customers to decide which business processes of their maintenance management should be handled by API PRO and which should be handled their ERP system. The business processes to consider here are primarily: stock control, purchase management and handling of invoices. Our toolbox contains the components necessary to build interfaces for sharing business processes between the maintenance system and the ERP.

In some cases, customers have decided to use the purchasing functionality of the ERP system. This leaves the need for purchasing typically transferred as purchase requests from API PRO. In most of these cases, API PRO ‘owns’ the spare part stock, though the stock control of the ERP system is also sometimes operated remotely from API PRO. Seen from a user point of view, this leaves all functions used by floor level people to take place in API PRO. The user won’t even notice that he or she is actually working in two systems.

INDUSTRIAL INTERFACES

OPC Client

The OPC technology allows for an online interface to be used in relation to maintenance of machines and equipment. With the integrated OPC client, API PRO connects to an OPC server, making the information in the automation system available in API PRO. No programming efforts are required to establish the connection, thanks to the standardized interface.

Condition Based Maintenance

The OPC connection can be used to collect data for condition monitoring measurements or for API PRO inspection Rounds system. It is also possible to collect operating time values for the production equipment here as well.

Compared to collecting the data manually, this saves a lot of time and makes it affordable to work with preventive maintenance intervals using ‘operation time’ rather than ‘calendar time.’ Here, the OPC connection helps you create a more predictive maintenance strategy by advising organizations to switch from ‘calendar time’ to ‘operating time’ based on preventive maintenance. This is the most important step towards increased availability of the production lines and reduced maintenance costs.

Furthermore, data in the automation system can be used to trigger alarms in API PRO. If, for example, a temperature gets too high in a certain measurement point, API PRO activates a pre-defined task as a new work order.

BOOST COMPETITIVENESS AND PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY WITH API PRO AND INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT)

The Industrial Internet of Things, also predicted to be the fourth industrial revolution, is the time for the smart online factory. The goal is production with shorter adjustment and lead times, fewer errors and greater flexibility. With API PRO you can take advantage of the IoT to increase your competitiveness.

Wireless sensors, used for condition monitoring, combined with modern IT solutions and analysis tools helps to predict patterns of equipment performance and condition.

Data from these “IoT services” are transferred to API PRO via standard Internet protocols and creates automatic state-based work orders and unplanned stop are being registered.